Life at Sea in the Slow Lane

Seaforth Marine targets seasoned sailors with breakthrough luxury trawlers in Tradition series -Launch set for March 2004 - A trawler in a league of its own.

February 27, 2004 -- According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the median age of cruiser buyers in the U.S. in 2002 was 50 with a median income of $134,000, being mostly well-to-do empty nesters with time, money, freedom, and having a more leisurely approach to water leisure. At 50, life passes quickly, so they are less interested in speed and though they enjoy sea travel they prefer comfort to the labors involved and, according to Seaforth President Julie James, they are ready for a luxury trawler, even if they dont know it yet.

Julie James brings more than 20 years marketing experience to Seaforth Marine Group, a marine design and marketing firm based in Maple Ridge, 45 minutes from Vancouver, British Columbia. We created the Tradition series to bring mega-yacht luxury to the current, rather Spartan, bareboat style of trawler travel, she says. We saw a growing number of seasoned boaters wanting a slower, safer, more stylish and more comfortable motor yacht. These people have made many good choices in life and the Offshore gives them unprecedented opportunity to make more choices between good, better and best levels of comfort and style in a trawler. To our knowledge, there is nothing else currently on the market like the Tradition.

This 54 full displacement vessel is large enough for family or friends, but small enough for a captain or an experienced couple to manage on their own. The Traditions graceful integration of space, strength, stability, handling, and style is no surprise due to the impeccable credentials of the in-house design team led by Winston Pynn and Mike Harling.

Harling has been designing and building boats for almost half a century in both Europe and North America. He designed Cooper Yachts Prowler 40 and Queenships Berretta 70 series, and supervised the production and engineering of Coopers legendary Mary J. I & II, Reminisce, and Saratoga motor yachts, as well as for Queenship's Admiralty series.

Naval architect Winston Pynn, the lead Tradition designer, has more than a decade of experience in the design and production of both mega-yachts and small boats at custom and production yards across North America, including Trinity Yachts in New Orleans and Luhrs Mainshed in St. Augustine, Florida.

The first category of choice in this high-end trawler is the power package - a single 320 hp engine with greater fuel economy and range nearly 3,800 statute miles, an easy cruise to Hawaii from the West Coast along with the safety of a 25 hp back-up come-home drive. Twin 180 hp engines provides an extra margin of peace of mind. Seaforth is offering propulsion systems from Caterpillar, John Deere, Volvo or Yanmar.

More choices follow in the second category of interior finish. Its all a matter of good, better, and best according to Seaforths in-house design chief Coralee Morier. She started her career in restaurant and hotel design, but soon found her true mtier in interior design for mega-yachts, working on the Mary P and other yachts in Queenships Admiralty series, later for Lazzarra and Crescent Yachts. On land, an interior designer works pretty much independently, she says. On a luxury yacht, to get the best result, I believe you must take the whole of the vessel into account; the complex interplay of design and engineering, of form and function its really architecture that moves, sometimes in very different environments. The Traditions basic design envelope remains constant at every level of luxury, as does the fully integrated wireless internet ready communication infrastructure built into every vessel and the extraordinarily accomplished joinery and subtle lighting schemes. At every level we are always looking to create a powerful wow! factor, says Morier.

There are ranges of luxury in the envelope. Basic luxury offers the standard hardwoods of maple, cherry and anigre, high quality fabrics, brand name appliance packages such as Kitchen Aid, and Panasonic entertainment centers. Higher luxury adds teak and holly to the hardwood selection, high end cork flooring in the galley and heads, Miele, Sub-Zero or Bosch appliances and small plasma flat screen TVs. The highest Offshore luxury includes wool, mohair, suede and leather in fabric selection, Bose electronics, larger flat screen plasma screens, more exotic woods such as makore, marble countertops, gold plated taps, and even specialty items such as a stainless steel shower curtain. It really depends on what the owners want, says Coralee. I thrive on enabling them to visualize possibilities based on their lifestyle plans and preferences. I am really guide in co-creating the interior at any level.

The buyer also has the choice of building location in North America or by Seaforths on-site engineering and design staff at their ISO9000-certified production partner in Guandong Province, China the quality does not suffer by the lower price mainly due to Chinas lower labor costs; facilities, materials and workmanship are maintained at world class. Building in Canada comes at a 20 percent premium, but it allows for more extensive customization and closer collaboration on interior design. Seaforth shares space with preferred builder, Seascape, at its yard upriver from Vancouver drawing its workforce from talented local craftsmen, many of whom have worked on high-end yachts at Queenship, Crescent Yachts, West Bay, Sovereign and others. The quality of the craftsmanship that Seascape offers is the equal of anything I have seen, says Morier.

Seaforth has three Tradition trawlers underway, the first due to launch in early March 2004, and inquiries on mega-yacht luxury with trawler strength, stability and range have reached peak proportions. Its really a new category were creating, says James. Were confident its the right vessel at the right time for people who want slower, steadier, more luxurious and longer-range cruising. I can state with confidence, after viewing our competition at various Boat Shows, I have yet to find a Trawler which incorporates the high end mega yacht finish. The Tradition 54' offers a mega yacht finish with the strength and stability of a Fishing Vessel. I believe we are in a league of our own. said James.

For further information please contact David at Seaforth Marine Group by phone at 604-466-7094 or email at e-mail protected from spam bots. You can also visit our website at www.seaforthmarine.com.